


Parallel Lines

by honestgrins



Series: Empty Promises [6]
Category: The Vampire Diaries (TV)
Genre: F/M, KCWeek18
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-06
Updated: 2018-09-06
Packaged: 2019-07-07 14:43:13
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 566
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15910359
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/honestgrins/pseuds/honestgrins
Summary: Never the twain shall meet again.





	Parallel Lines

Klaus awoke with a start, his chest sore. Rage burned his blood when he realized why. "What-"

"I talked Ric down, and the girls agreed to the spell," Caroline explained tiredly. He turned to see her curled up in an armchair and recognized their surroundings as her office. A pile of clothes sat next to him, likely to replace the bloody mess of his shirt. "They settled for skirts and a dance, though I probably should have sicced them on you. You're loaded, right?"

"Aiming for another check, love?"

Caroline narrowed her eyes. "Just leave me something nice in your will," she snipped.

Frowning, Klaus rose to a sitting position with his arms resting on his knees. The air in the room felt suddenly stale with their solemn mood. "I don't want to die, Caroline," he admitted, sounding as scared as she once did dying in her childhood bedroom. "But I will do it to save Hope."

"God, who gave you a kid?" Her voice was wry, and his lips quirked up into a small grin. "I get it," she sighed. "I really do. I would burn the world to protect my girls, will probably have to once the Gemini Coven crap kicks in."

Klaus took a deep breath, a frustrated tension building between them. "You'll find a way."

"You're allowed to give up," she muttered sadly. "What if..." Caroline trailed off, wrapping her arms around her legs. "We never did make it to Rome."

"If I had one more day," he swore, the beginning of many a regretful promise. But he didn't have another day, not with Hope at risk. "Will you take care of her for me?"

Her lips pressed together into a thin line as she studied him in thought. "No," she finally answered, and he couldn't help the hollow sensation in his chest at her decisive tone. "But she has Rebekah and Freya, Kol. Elijah. I'll help them any way I can."

Shaking his head, Klaus felt frantic. "She and Elijah can barely speak, not with Hayley's death haunting them. And the others... Freya is human, Kol and Rebekah desperately wishing they could be as well. What happens if they're all gone?"

Caroline shrugged. "Then she still has a friend. It's not like I have any last loves sticking around for my eternity anymore." She glanced up, huffing out a hoarse laugh. "In any scenario, did you imagine that Hope would be the Mikaelson I keep in touch with?"

"Sweetheart-" He felt wrecked looking out the window to see the first orange flares of sunset streaking the sky. "I wanted so much for you."

"Looks like I get to figure it out for myself now," she said, following his gaze to the window. "One day, I'll lose everyone I've ever loved in this life." Klaus stood slowly, turning a worried eye on her. Glancing up, she met his concern with a sad look of  _age_. "It's nothing new, I've known it for years. But this is the first time I'm realizing that I might have to face that grief alone."

And just like that, she turned away. He needed to find Hope, to help the Saltzman girls prepare the ritual. In that moment, though, he couldn't help but stare at Caroline for a bit longer, a profound loss echoing in the cavern of his chest.

The loss of what might have been.


End file.
